بِإِحرازِكَ الفَضلَ الَّذي بَهَرَ الخَلقا
فَرَعتَ ذُرى المَجدِ الَّتي لَم تَكُن تُرقا
With your virtuous qualities that dazzle all creation,
You have attained the heights of glory never reached before.
وَمَن مَهَرَ العَلياءَ حِلماً وَنائِلاً
وَمَحمِيَةً كانَت حَلالاً لَهُ طِلقا
One who has mastered nobility, forbearance, and attainment,
With safeguards that were permitted to him unconditionally.
وَقَد زِدتَها مِنَ التَقِيَّةِ نِحلَةً
فَكُنتَ الأَعَفَّ الأَحلَمَ الأَكرَمَ الأَتقا
You have augmented these with devoutness,
Thus you are the most chaste, forbearing, generous, and pious.
مَعاني مَعالٍ فُقتَ لَمّا اِبتَدَعتَها
وَأَعيا الوَرى ما جَلَّ مِنها وَما دَقّا
With meaningful ideas you innovated,
Perplexing the world’s brightest and most discerning minds.
رَكِبتَ إِلى المَجدِ الرَوامِسَ وَاِمتَطَوا
عَرامِسَ ما أَبقى الكَلالُ بِها طِرقا
You mounted glory’s lofty heights,
That no hero before you had trodden.
وَحُجَّتُهُم كانَت لِإِشكالِ طُرقِهِ
فَأَلّا وَقَد أَوضَحتَ لِلسالِكِ الطُرقا
Their argument was the difficulty of its paths,
But you have made the way clear for the wayfarer.
وَمُستَبَقٍ لِلأَكرَمينَ بِمَركَضٍ
تَرى الوَفرَ مُقنىً فيهِ وَالشُكرَ مُستَبقا
A front runner leaving the noblest behind in your gallop -
You see vigor tiring in it, and gratitude left behind.
عَلَوتَ بِهِ الأَجوادَ طُرّاً مَكارِماً
وَفُتَّ بِهِ الأَمجادَ قاطِبَةً سَبقا
You surpassed the generous in noble manners,
And outstripped glories utterly in precedence.
كَأَنَّكَ لا تَرجو لِذا الفَخرِ أَن يُرى
مُحِقّاً إِذا لَم تُفنِ ما حُزتَهُ مَحقا
As though you do not wish such pride be seen
Diminishing, if you do not exhaust what you have gained.
وَما زِلتَ ذا الفَضلِ الَّذي صاقَبَ السُهى
عُلُوّاً وَذا القَولِ الَّذي جانَبَ المَذقا
You still possess this virtue that avoided disgrace,
And this discourse that avoided distaste.
جَلا عَن جَميعِ المُسلِمينَ غِياثُهُم
خُطوباً تَحَدَّتهُم بِأَسهُمِها رَشقا
The shelter of all Muslims against their assailing woes -
Misfortunes that challenge them with their arrows.
خَليلٌ أَتى مَأتى الخَليلِ بنِ آزَرٍ
مِنَ الحِلمِ وَالإِغضاءِ قَد آزَرَ الخَلقا
A Khalil who emulates the Khalil son of Azar
In forbearance and restraint, benefiting all mankind.
فَأَبقى عَلى الجانينَ عَفواً وَرَأفَةً
وَجادَ عَلى العافينَ عَفواً فَما أَبقا
He forgives the sinner, and is generous to the innocent,
Continuously bestowing pardon, never ceasing.
وَقَد تَلِدُ المَعروفَ أَيدٍ كَثيرَةٌ
وَلَكِنَّها مِن قَبلِهِ تُكثِرُ الطَلقا
Good deeds give birth to many hands,
But his outdo them in frequent charity.
سَريعٌ إِلى أُكرومَةٍ وَحَمِيَّةٍ
فَلَو رافَقَتهُ الريحُ قالَت لَهُ رِفقا
Swift to noble and protective acts -
If the wind accompanied him it would say to him, “Gently!”
يَفيضُ نَدىً فيمَن أَطاعَ وَمَن عَصى
أَتَتهُ سُطاهُ مِثلَ أَنعُمِهِ دَفقا
He is bountiful to those who obey and disobey equally,
His kindness comes to them like his blessings, in floods.
مِنَ الأُسرَةِ الشُمِّ الَّذينَ تَحَمَّلوا
إِلى كُلِّ ذِكرٍ طَيِّبٍ كُلَّ ما شَقّا
From the elevated house of Shumays, who have taken upon themselves
Every worthy mention, regardless of the burdens.
وَذَبّوا عَنِ الأَعراضِ عِلماً بِأَنَّها
بِغَيرِ مِياهِ البَذلِ وَالعَدلِ لا تَبقا
They protected honors with the knowledge
That without the waters of generosity and justice they cannot last.
بَهاليلُ كَم أَسدَوا إِلى الدَهرِ مِنَّةً
وَسَدّوا بِها خَرقاً وَسادوا بِها خِرقا
Bahalil - how much favor they showed the ages!
They mended every tear, and sowed the openings.
رَأَيتُ الَّذي يَبغي مَداكَ كَناصِبٍ
حَبائِلَهُ جَهلاً لِيَقتَنِصَ العَنقا
I saw those who desire your death like lying foes
Ensnaring you in the traps of ignorance to catch you.
مَلَكتَ مِنَ الآفاقِ غَرباً وَقِبلَةً
فَأَنشَأتَ عَزماً يَطلُبُ الشامَ وَالشَرقا
You have conquered East and West,
Instilling a resolve to seek Syria and the Orient.
وَقَد دَبَّ مِن أَقصى المَشارِقِ حَيَّةٌ
لَها لَدَغاتٌ لا تُداوى وَلا تُرقا
And there has crept out of the far East a snake
Whose stings cannot be cured or softened.
فَطَبَّقَ تِلكَ الأَرضَ ظُلماً وَظُلمَةً
فَكُن فَلَقاً يَجلو دَجوجِيَّهُ فَلقا
It has smothered that land in injustice and darkness -
So be a crack to dispel its pitch blackness.
فَمِن دونِ دينٍ قَد تَوَلَّيتَ نَصرَهُ
قَبائِلَ مِن قَيسٍ وَقَحطانَ ما تُلقا
For the defense of religion you have mobilized
Tribes of Qais and Qahtan they did not previously ally.
هُمُ سَلَبوا كِسرى بنَ ساسانَ مُلكَهُ
وَقَبلَهُمُ عَقَّ المُلوكَ وَما عُقّا
They stripped Chosroes son of Sasan of his kingdom,
And before him they straightened the bent kings.
وَذادوا عَلى اليَرموكِ ذادَةَ قَيصَرٍ
بِكُلِّ حُسامٍ يَمنَعُ الناطِقَ النُطقا
At Yarmouk they resisted Caesar’s resistance
With every sharp sword that silences the speaker.
يُبالِغُ في نَهيِ الطُغاةِ وَلَم يَقُل
وَيَقسو لَدى الحَربِ العَوانِ وإِن رَقّا
He forbids tyrants forcefully and does not say “gently”,
Yet is compassionate in the heat of battle, however intense.
وَلا شَكَّ أَنَّ التُركَ يَنسَونَ رَميَهُم
بِطَعنٍ بِهِ أَنسَيتَ صَنهاجَةَ الزَرقا
Undoubtedly the Turks forget his piercing arrows
With which you made them forget Sanajah’s coat of mail.
أَلا فَاِرمِهِم مِنهُم بِكُلِّ بنِ حُرَّةٍ
يَهيمُ بِيَومِ الرَوعِ مِن مَهدِهِ عِشقا
Then attack them with every fiery son of Hurrah
Who from birth yearns for the day of panic.
تَطيحُ بِهِ شَقّاءُ يُجنَبُ خَلفَها
إِلى كُلِّ حَربٍ عِثيَرٌ قَطُّ ماشُقّا
Calamity brings down its fold,
Then every unruly cat takes to every battle, defying wounds.
جَريءٍ يَرى الإِقدامَ حَقّاً عَلى الفَتى
فَيَحمِلُ وِقرَ العَودِ مِن نَجدَةٍ حِقّا
A bold man who sees daring as the duty of man,
So he bears the heavy weight of the lance fearlessly.
يَحُثُّ الجَوادَ الأَعوَجِيَّ وَما وَنى
وَيُسقي الحُسامَ المَشرَفِيَّ وَما اِستَسقى
He rouses the nimble camel and it has not grown weary,
He waters the Indian sword and it is not sated.
مِنَ القَومِ بَزّوا رَبَّةَ الرومِ نَفسَها
بِمَنزِلِها الأَقصى وَما بَلَغوا العُمقا
Some of the tribe reached the palace of Rome’s empress herself,
To her furthest abode, but did not reach the depths.
رَمَيتَ مِنَ العَزمِ الوَحيِّ بِلادَها
بِصاعِقَةٍ ما خِلتُها بَعدَها تَبقا
You have pierced its lands with resolute lightning
Of which no trace remains after its strikes.
بَعَثتَ لَهُم مِن كُلِّ خَرقٍ وَقُلَّةٍ
صَوارِمَ أَعيَت مَن يَسُدُّ لَها خَرقا
You have sent them warriors against every breach and gap
Exhausting those who would mend the torn places.
فَأَجرَت سُيولاً مِن دِماءِ حُماتِهِم
أَماتَت بِها الفُرّارَ مِن وَقعِها غَرقا
They have poured rivers of blood from their protectors
In which the fleeing from their onslaught drowned.
وَلَم نَرَ سَيلاً قَبلَهُ فاضَ مِن دَمٍ
وَلا قُضُباً هِندِيَّةً قَتَلَت خَنقا
We have never seen a flood pour from blood before,
Nor an Indian reed that kills by strangling.
وَقَد طالَما أَخَّرتَ جَيشاً عَنِ العِدى
وَأَرسَلتَ رَأياً مِثلَ باعِثِهِ صَدقا
Often you held back an army from transgression
And sent a wise saying like its sender in truthfulness.
فَأَذهَبتَ بِالإيعادِ شِقَّ نُفوسِهِم
وَغادَرتَ مِنها لِلظُبى وَالقَنا شِقّا
You took away the wolves’ souls with intimidation
And left in them but hares and foxes.
وَلَو شِئتَ لَم تَترُك لِبيضٍ مِنَ الظُبى
وَزُرقٍ مِنَ الخِرصانِ في مُهجَةٍ رِزقا
Had you wished, you would have left no white tail of a fox
Or blue lizard in the meadowland a bite.
وَلَكِن أَراكَ الحَزمُ أَنَّ وُرودَها
دَمَ المارِقِ الغاوي لِهَيبَتَها أَبقا
But I see your wisdom, that only the blood
Of deviant rebels will make its terror eternal.
قَرَعتَ الرَزايا بِالرَزايا وَلَم تَكُن
بِمُستَعمِلٍ في مَوضِعِ الشِدَّةِ الرِفقا
You have struck hardships with hardships and were not
Gentle in dire need, a time for gentleness.
وَعايَنتَ ما تَحتَ الغُيوبِ فِراسَةً
وَفَجرُ اليَقينِ في دُجى الشَكِّ ما اِنشَقّا
You have witnessed what lies beyond perceptions -
The dawn of certainty rending the veil of doubts.
فَلَو كانَ ظَنُّ الجاهِلِيَّةِ صادِقاً
كَظَنِّكَ لَم تَسأَل سَطيحاً وَلا شِقّا
If the beliefs of ignorance were true,
Like your beliefs, you would not have questioned turtle shells.
مَساعٍ بِأَدناهُنَّ تُستَعبَدُ العُلى
وَقَبلَكَ لَم يَملِك لَها أَحَدٌ رِقّا
Hearing their lowest you enslave the highest,
None before you possessed any control over them.
تَحَقَّقَها الأَدنَونَ سَمعاً وَرُؤيَةً
وَأُشعِرَها الأَقصَونَ مِن عَرفِها نَشقا
The lowest ascertain them by hearing and seeing,
The highest are made aware of them by their renown.
وَأَنجُمُ عَزمٍ أَشرَقَ المُلكُ مُذ بَدَت
فَدامَت لَهُ وَقفاً وَدُمتَ لَها أُفقا
Stars of resolve whose rising empowered the kingdom -
They were stopped in their course for it, became its horizon.
بِإِنعامِكَ اِستَغنَيتُ عَن كُلِّ مُنعِمٍ
وَمَن ظَلَّ تَحتَ الغَيثِ لَم يَشِمِ البَرقا
With your blessings I have become needless of any benefactor,
One sheltered by rain does not smell distant lightning.
أَبَت لِيَ ذاكَ ديمَةٌ ناصِرِيَّةٌ
تَفوقُ الحَيا نَفعاً وَتَكثُرُهُ وَدقا
That everlasting, victorious bond has refused me -
It surpasses snakes in benefit, frequency, and precision.
وَصائِنُ مَدحي عَن مَعاشِرَ لا يَرى
أَسَفُّهُمُ بَينَ النَدى وَالرَدى فَرقا
My poetry’s guardian against a horde who do not see
Which of the two, praise or blame, distinguishes them more.
ذَوي المَلَقِ المُنجابِ عَن غَيرِ بُغيَةٍ
وَكَم عَدِمَ الإِحسانَ مَن حَسَّنَ المَلقا
Those of welcoming appearance but no ill intent,
Yet how much good appearance is marred by those of bad behavior!
وَسائِلُ ما أَجدَت لَدَيهِم كَأَنَّها
مَسائِلُ مِن عِلمٍ عَلى جاهِلٍ تُلقا
Asking what they gain no knowledge from by asking,
Like questions posed to the ignorant by the learned.
سَقى اللَهُ آمالاً سَما بي طُموحُها
إِلى الذَروَةِ العَلياءِ وَالعُروَةِ الوُثقا
God has watered hopes that tower to the highest peak,
And grasp the firmest handhold.
تَرَكتُ أَكُفّاً قَرمَطَ البُخلُ رِفدَها
وَعُذتُ بِكَفٍّ في النَدى تُحسِنُ المَشقا
I have left palms the miser’s stinginess has dried up,
And I take refuge in an open palm skilled in giving.
فَأَمَّنتَ سِرباً كانَ قِدماً مُرَوَّعاً
وَأَصفَيتَ شِرباً كُنتُ أَعهُدُهُ رَنقا
You have secured a caravan that was fearful,
And sweetened a drink I used to find bitter.
وَأَحمَدتَني الأَيّامَ مِن بَعدِ ذَمِّها
عَلى أَنَّ دَهراً عاقَني عَنكَ قَد عَقّا
And time, after blaming me, has praised me
Because an age has prevented me from you wrongfully.
وَلَو كانَ جِسمي مِثلَ عَزمِيَ لَم أُنِخ
قَلائِصَ يُلوي بِالحَصى وَخدُها سَحقا
If my body matched my resolve I would not flinch
At hardships that twist my cheek into pebbles and gravel.
جَديلِيَّةً وُرقاً إِذا جَدَّ جِدُّها
إِلى غايَةٍ ظُنَّت هَديلِيَّةً وُرقا
A stream that flows strongly when its source flows strongly,
To a goal it thought was gently flowing at first.
خَليلَ أَميرِ المُؤمِنينَ بِكَ اِعتَلى
مَقالي وَقِدماً كانَ كَالحَرَضِ المُلقا
Khalil, commander of the faithful - through you
My words have risen and my feet that dragged lifelessly.
فَجاوَزتُ في مَدحيكَ لَمّا نَظَمتُهُ
فُحولاً مَضَوا ما كُنتَ أَرجو لَهُم لَحقا
So in praising you I have surpassed the supreme
Poets I had never hoped to overtake.
وَصِرتُ إِذا ما قالَةُ الشِعرِ قُلِّبَت
بَضائِعُهُم أُلفيتُ أَنفَسَهُم عِلقا
When the camel-litter of poetry is rotated,
And their goods displayed, I find them hanging on desperately.
وَلا حَمدَ لي في حُسنِ قَولي وَصِدقِهِ
وَلَكِنَّهُ لِلمُلهِمي الفَضلَ وَالصِدقا
I deserve no praise in the fairness and honesty of my words,
But the credit is due to the Inspirer, the Honest.
وَقَد تُشكَرُ الأَرضُ العَميمُ نَباتُها
وَإِن كانَ مِن فِعلِ الغَمامِ الَّذي أَسقا
The dark earth is thanked for its plants
Though it comes through the action of watering clouds.
إِذا طَلَبَ المَملوكُ عِتقَ مَليكِهِ
أَبى لِيَ ما أَولَيتَ أَن أَطلُبَ العِتقا
If the slave asks his master for freedom,
The gift you have given me prevents me from asking for freedom.
فَلا زالَ هَذا العيدُ يَأتي وَيَنقَضي
وَجَدُّكَ قاضٍ أَنَّ شانِئَكَ الأَشقا
So this feast continues arriving and passing
While your judgment is that your enemy is most wretched.
فَمُنذُ مَلَكتَ الدَهرَ لا زِلتَ رَبَّهُ
غَدا فِعلُهُ فينا مِنِ اِسمِكَ مُشتَقّا
Since you ruled time, you remain its lord -
Tomorrow its actions derive from your name.
وَما هُوَ لِلإِحسانِ أَهلاً وَإِنَّما
تَخَلَّفَهُ خَوفاً فَصارَ لَهُ خُلقا
It is unworthy of generosity, but only
Remains for fear, so it acquired that trait.
فَدُمتَ مُوَقّىً في الأَجَلَّينِ صَرفَهُ
فَكَم أَردَيا بُطلاً وَكَم أَحيَيا حَقّا
May you remain focused on the two eternities directing it,
For how many have you destroyed and given life with truth!
لَقَد أَشبَهاكَ هِزَّةً وَنَزاهَةً
وَلا عَجَبٌ لِلفَرعِ أَن يُشبِهَ العِرقا
They resemble you in dignity and righteousness,
No surprise branches resemble the roots.
بَقيتَ وَإِن سيءَ العِدى لِتَراهُما
وَلا مِنبَرٌ إِلّا بِأَمرِهِما يُرقا
You remain, though time treats you badly, just to see them,
No pulpit stands but by their command.
وَلا زِلتَ ما كَرَّ الجَديدانِ ساحِباً
مَلابِسَ مِن فَخرٍ لِغَيرِكَ ما حُقّا
You ceaselessly wear the garments of pride
Never worn by another, however long ago.
